Journal of Glycobiology
Open Access

The centers of premeltons signal the beginning and ends of genes

4^th Glycobiology World Congress

September 17-19, 2018 | Rome, Italy

Henry M Sobell

University of Rochester, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Glycobiol

Abstract :

Premeltons are examples of emergent structures (i.e., structural solitons) that arise spontaneously in DNA due to the presence of nonlinear excitations in its structure. They are of two kinds: B-B (or A-A) premeltons form at specific DNAregions to nucleate site-specific DNA melting. These are stationary and, being globally non-topological, undergo breather motions that allow drugs and dyes to intercalate into DNA. B-A (or A-B) premeltons, on the other hand, are mobile, and being globally topological, act as phase-boundaries transforming B- into A-DNA during the structural phase-transition. They are not expected to undergo breather-motions. A key feature of both types of premeltons is the presence of an intermediate structural-form in their central regions (proposed as being a transition-state intermediate in DNA-melting and in the Bto A- transition), which differs from either A- or B-DNA. Called beta-DNA, this is both metastable and hyperflexible�??and contains an alternating sugar-puckering pattern along the polymer-backbone combined with the partial-unstacking (in its lower energy-forms) of every other base-pair. Beta-DNA is connected to either B- or to A-DNA on either side by boundaries possessing a gradation of nonlinear structural-change, these being called the kink and the anti-link regions. The presence of premeltons in DNA leads to a unifying theory to understand much of DNA physical-chemistry and molecular-biology. In particular, premeltons are predicted to define the 5�?? and 3�?? ends of genes in naked-DNA and DNA in active-chromatin, this having important implications for understanding physical aspects of the initiation, elongation and termination of RNAsynthesis during transcription. For these and other reasons, the model will be of broader interest to the general audience working in these areas. The model explains a wide variety of data, and carries within it a number of experimental predictions�?? all readily testable�??as will be described the talk.

Biography :

E-mail: sobell@localnet.com